President Trump vs. Democrat Mark Warner on Saudi Arabia
Peter D'Abrosca
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A U.S. Senator from Virginia made a fool of himself when he released a statement bashing President Donald J. Trump for his handling of the killing of Muslim Brotherhood-tied Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
“It’s hard to imagine that the Saudis would have taken this action under a Reagan, Bush, Clinton or Obama Administration without facing serious repercussions,” said Sen. Mark Warren (D-Va.).
Warren must have forgotten about 9/11, during which 19 Saudi nationals hijacked four commercial airliners and flew them into the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 Americans. The Bush administration continued to sell weapons and purchase oil from the Saudis, as did the Obama administration. Both administrations worked with the Saudis as a strategic partner in the Middle East, though the country practices Sharia Law and is guilty of human rights violations.
Three thousand dead Americans was not enough for Warner to condemn the Middle Eastern nation. But one Muslim Brotherhood-tied Washington Post columnist? That was a bridge too far for the Virginia Senator.
“As a younger man in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Khashoggi considered himself a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, which analysts often describe as a foundational group behind the emergence of al Qaeda,” the Washington Times said.
“Representatives of Saudi Arabia say that Jamal Khashoggi was an ‘enemy of the state’ and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, but my decision is in no way based on that – this is an unacceptable and horrible crime,” Trump said in a statement on the killing.
“King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman vigorously deny any knowledge of the planning or execution of the murder of Mr. Khashoggi. Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event – maybe he did and maybe he didn’t.”
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